Russian diesel tanker idles off U.S. east coast despite Trump’s export waiver

Résumé détaillé

U.S. companies are shunning the fuel over legal concerns and operational challenges

U.S. companies are unlikely to import Russian diesel as a tanker full of the fuel idles off the U.S. Eastern Seaboard, experts said, despite President Donald Trump’s temporary waiver of some sanctions on Moscow’s fuel exports.

Banks are likely to be reluctant to finance U.S. deals for Russian diesel, the experts said, noting there are legal questions about whether the president’s waiver is enough to allow for the imports. There are also operational challenges, because importers would need to blend the Russian diesel to meet U.S. heating oil specifications.

U.S. lawmakers from both parties objected last month, when Trump temporarily waived parts of a law that slapped Moscow with sanctions after its invasion of Ukraine. Former president Joe Biden imposed the sanctions after the 2022 invasion, and Congress later backed them and codified them as law.

Looking to lower diesel prices that spiked during the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran, Trump’s plan would allow Russia to immediately export 300,000 tons, or 2.25 million barrels, of diesel to U.S. and global markets. This would be followed by 500,000 tons in November and 1 million tons “immediately thereafter.”

The price of diesel in the U.S. was US$6.13 per gallon on Wednesday, according to the American Automobile Association. That is down 20 US cents a gallon from US$6.33 the day that Trump waived the sanctions in October, but up 63 per cent from US$3.76 before the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran began in late February, according to AAA data.

A tanker carrying the first cargo of Russian diesel for the U.S. halted its voyage off the East Coast this week, shipping data showed on Tuesday. Its operator said the destination had not yet been decided.

On Tuesday, U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright said he was confident the idled tanker would help supply global markets even if it did not land at a U.S. port. “We just want that diesel going into the world markets,” Wright told reporters at an event in New Orleans.

First tanker of Russian diesel sets…

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